by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A sweeping five-day law enforcement operation targeting online child predators led to the arrest of 205 suspects and the rescue of 115 children across the United States, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 7.
Dubbed “Operation Restore Justice,” the multiagency effort involved the FBI’s 55 field offices and over 90 U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide. Authorities targeted individuals involved in child sex trafficking, production and distribution of child sexual abuse material, and online enticement of minors.
“These depraved human beings, if convicted, will face the maximum penalty in prison — some life,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi during a press conference. She emphasized that the operation was intended to send a clear message that those who prey on children would be aggressively pursued and prosecuted.
FBI Director Kash Patel highlighted that some of those arrested held positions of public trust, including law enforcement personnel, teachers, and other professionals. “There is no place we will not come to hunt you down,” Patel said. “There is no place we will not look for you. And there is no cage we will not put you in should you do harm to our children.”
Among those arrested were Minnesota State Trooper Jeremy Francis Plonski, who faces up to 15 years in prison for allegedly producing child pornography; Jose Alexis Valdez Sosa, a Mexican migrant accused of transporting a minor across state lines for sexual exploitation; and Linwood Barnhill, a former Washington, D.C. police officer and registered sex offender charged with sex trafficking children by force.
Bondi urged parents to closely monitor their children’s online activities to protect them from potential predators. “Your child has no right to privacy on the internet — none,” she said. “You have to monitor what your kids are doing, whether they’re playing games on the internet, on social media, or on any other websites that children and teenagers frequent. An online predator can find them.”
In a related statement, President Donald Trump emphasized the administration’s commitment to combating child exploitation, stating, “My message to every American child is simple: you are perfect exactly the way God made you.”
The crackdown is part of a broader DOJ initiative to tackle child exploitation through coordinated efforts involving state, federal, and local partners. Previous operations, including “Operation Cross Country XII” in 2022 under the Biden administration, resulted in the arrest of 85 suspected traffickers and the recovery of 121 missing children.
The DOJ continues to encourage the public to report suspected child exploitation through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline and local law enforcement agencies.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The United States is turning to an unusual but highly effective combination of cutting-edge technology and trained marine mammals as it works to clear dangerous naval mines from the Strait of Hormuz and restore the flow of global shipping.
The U.S. State Department confirmed that Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is returning to Washington to participate in a second round of ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon set for Thursday.
Iran’s sweeping internet shutdown is entering its second month, leaving the vast majority of the country’s nearly 90 million citizens cut off from the global web amid ongoing tensions tied to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
President Donald Trump is weighing his next steps after negotiations with Iran broke down Tuesday before formal talks could even begin, raising fresh uncertainty over the fragile cease-fire and the path forward.
A sharp decline in violent crime across the nation’s capital is drawing renewed attention to law enforcement policies under President Donald Trump, as federal officials point to a more aggressive public safety strategy as a key driver behind the turnaround.
Hungary’s incoming prime minister Péter Magyar has signaled a sharp turnaround toward Israel, warning that Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu could face arrest if he enters Hungarian territory after previously inviting him to visit Budapest, citing obligations to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
President Donald Trump’s Pentagon requested $50 billion from taxpayers on Tuesday for a budget so secret that the military will only say how much it costs.